Rifles and the sound of gunfire

[myrionomos]

I am writing a story set during the first world war (1914 1919) I do not know much about guns but do know that some sound characteristically different to others when fired. A plot development depends on a number of shots being fired rapidly by a single (American/British) Lee Enfield .303 followed by a response straightaway from a group of either (German)Mauser Gehwar 98's or the (Austrian) Mannlicher rifle.

Does anyone know whether there was a difference in sound between the .303 and either of the other guns which would be readily discernable by experienced front line soldiers?

Also a side issue I know that early in the war the Germans captured huge quantities of the Russian Mosin Nagant rifles which because of shortages were issued to their reserve troops. Does anyone know whether any of these Russian rifles was used by the Germans on the western rather than the eastern front.?

Thank you.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

I can't help you with the question of the Mosin Nagants but I can tell you that the difference between the sound of a .303 British, a 8x57 German and a 30/06 American rifle is negligible. Discernible differences would be between one of those infantry rifles and a large anti-tank rifle or a single-fired .50 Browning machine gun. Just put in a set of ear plugs and head for your nearest out door rifle range as a spectator and you will hear what I mean.

 

[Verdad]

I tried to find the sounds, but this, for what it's worth, is all I got on a quick search:

http://www.productiontrax.com/search.php?query=WW1

The tracks can be heard by placing the cursor over the picture. The rifles are not named, but maybe it could be worth a listen just for the general ambiance.

 

[JackLuis]

One should understand that the target hears a totally different sound than the marksman. The whistle of bullets as they pass by, followed by the sound of the firing, if you can hear it at all, is substantially more stimulating!

From which perspective is your story cast? "Oh Sod it, those bloody Hineies are gettin' up my nose, Sargent! Permission to give then a fast ten rounds of Britain's finest?

Or
"Do you think this war will ever end Adolph?" Cpl Messingdrfter said as he slumped down in the dug out. The sound of sporadic rifle fire from down in the flats were muted in the by the thick wall of sandbags.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

The whistle of bullets as they pass by, followed by the sound of the firing, if you can hear it at all, is substantially more stimulating!

To say the least!

 

[jomar]

There's always a difference in the sound of weapons of different caliber.

So here's what you do as an author: decide who is the good guy...then decide what sound serves the good guy purpose - a high chatter or a deep thrum.

I bet you can find some youtube sites that will let you hear the different sounds of a variety of weapons.

Or...just make shit up.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

That depends on how different they are. The bullet weight, bore size, velocity and powder charge of the three WWI service calibers are so close you'd have to be a professional ballistition to tell the difference. The difference between an AK round and a NATO 5.56 is enough you can tell but not those old one.

 

[TE999]

I am writing a story set during the first world war (1914 1919) I do not know much about guns but do know that some sound characteristically different to others when fired. A plot development depends on a number of shots being fired rapidly by a single (American/British) Lee Enfield .303 followed by a response straightaway from a group of either (German)Mauser Gehwar 98's or the (Austrian) Mannlicher rifle.

Does anyone know whether there was a difference in sound between the .303 and either of the other guns which would be readily discernable by experienced front line soldiers?

Also a side issue I know that early in the war the Germans captured huge quantities of the Russian Mosin Nagant rifles which because of shortages were issued to their reserve troops. Does anyone know whether any of these Russian rifles was used by the Germans on the western rather than the eastern front.?

Thank you.

A concentrated volley of fire sounds vastly different than the CRACK! of a single rifle. Machine guns pretty much supplanted rifle volleys except in the occasional 'over the top' infantry assault...and that was shooting on the run not from a fixed position.

WWI was a collision between 19th Century tactics and 20th Century armaments...hence the horrendous loss of life in trench warfare to artillery and machine guns.

 

[Weird Harold]

I am writing a story set during the first world war (1914 1919) I do not know much about guns but do know that some sound characteristically different to others when fired. A plot development depends on a number of shots being fired rapidly by a single (American/British) Lee Enfield .303 followed by a response straightaway from a group of either (German)Mauser Gehwar 98's or the (Austrian) Mannlicher rifle.

Does anyone know whether there was a difference in sound between the .303 and either of the other guns which would be readily discernable by experienced front line soldiers?

Also a side issue I know that early in the war the Germans captured huge quantities of the Russian Mosin Nagant rifles which because of shortages were issued to their reserve troops. Does anyone know whether any of these Russian rifles was used by the Germans on the western rather than the eastern front.?

Thank you.

One bit of realism to consider:

If you are down-range from a supersonic rifle, you'll hear a flat, sharp crack a second or two before you hear the muzzle blast.

If you're to the side, roughly even, with the same rifle, you'll hear mostly just the muzzle blast with the 'sonic boom' of the bullet's passage just a higher pitched accent.

If you're behind the firing position, youwon't hear the "sonic boom" at all.

All of the weapons you mention fire supersonic bullets. There's no real "whine of the bullets' passage" to any of them, just a "crack" like a bullwhip's cracker breaking the sound barrier.

I don't believe there would have been any Mossi-Nagant rifles on the western front because of ammunition concerns -- captured rifles often depend on captured ammunition.

I disagree with VM that there's no discernable difference between the various battle rifles of WWI. The differences were minor, but distinguishable; contemporary accounts mention the "distinctive sounds" of different weapons.

 

[SeaCat]

Different firearms have their own distictive sounds even if they use the same calibre ammunition. There are a lot of cariables that effect the sound created by the round being fired as was mentioned by I believe VM.

Sometimes the variations in sound are small and take some time and experience hearing them to learn to discern them. Especially when the firearms are fairly close in calibres and ballistics. Other times the differences are fairly easy to discern, (as in the difference in sound between an M-16 and the AK-47.)

Cat

 

[Handley_Page]

Broadly speaking, the smaller the calibre, the flatter the "Crack" because there's a lot of high-frequency energy in the sound.
A 5.56mm (.223) has a very sharp crack.
A .303, being larger and slower (-ish), has a longer, more bass, sound.

If on the receiving end of a high-powered rifle bullet, you'll hear the sound of an angry hornet (z z Z ZZZ -APP), assuming it hits anything (If it's you, you won't care much about the sound). This will be followed a short while later by the "boom".

 

[bronzeage]

If you can hear a bullet whistle, you have not been shot, yet.